Prehypertension in early versus late pregnancy.

Introduction: Hypertensive disorders play a significant role in maternal morbidity and mortality. Limited data on prehypertension (preHTN) in pregnancy exist. We examine the risk of adverse outcomes in patients with preHTN in early (<20 weeks) versus late pregnancy (>20 weeks).

Re-Thinking Elective Single Embryo Transfer: Increased Risk of Monochorionic Twinning - A Systematic Review.

Background/objectives: Multiple pregnancies have tripled in the United States over the past 3 decades. Attributed to increasing maternal age at delivery but more so assisted reproductive technological advances, an effort has been made to decrease twinning through elective single embryo transfer. We sought to review and evaluate risks of monochorionic twinning as a predictable consequence of increasing utilization of elective single embryo transfer on perinatal outcomes.

Effects of Pharmacological Agents on Human Amniotic Fluid-Derived Stem Cells in Culture.

Amniotic fluid contains multipotent cells and could be a source of stem cells for clinical use. Amniotic fluid cells (AFCs) are made up of a heterogeneous population of fetal cells that can be retrieved during pregnancy without ethical concerns as it is a standard clinical procedure. Studies of proliferation, multipotent marker expression, differentiation, and gene expression were performed after culturing with dexamethasone, valproic acid, and magnesium sulfate.

Prehypertension in Early Pregnancy: What is the Significance?

 Hypertensive disorders play a significant role in maternal morbidity and mortality. There is limited data on prehypertension (pre-HTN) during the first half of pregnancy. We sought to examine the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in patients with prehypertension in early pregnancy (<20 weeks' gestational age).

Global prevalence of prothrombin gene mutation G20210A and implications in women's health: a systematic review.

Distribution of hereditary thrombophilic gene mutations differs globally. Prothrombin gene mutation G20210A is a common prothrombotic single-nucleotide polymorphism. In this systematic review, we provide a comprehensive report of the prevalence of prothrombin G20210A across the globe.

Uterocervical angle: a novel ultrasound screening tool to predict spontaneous preterm birth.

Background: Mechanical alteration of the cervical angle has been proposed to reduce spontaneous preterm birth. Performance of the uterocervical angle as measured by ultrasound for predicting spontaneous preterm birth is poorly understood.

Objective: We sought to determine whether a novel ultrasonographic marker, uterocervical angle, correlates with risk of spontaneous preterm birth in a general population.

Human amniotic fluid: a source of stem cells for possible therapeutic use.

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells with the capacity for differentiation. Amniotic fluid cells have emerged only recently as a possible source of stem cells for clinical purposes. There are no ethical or sampling constraints for the use of amniocentesis as a standard clinical procedure for obtaining an abundant supply of amniotic fluid cells.